North Korea has stepped up its threat game lately， ...claiming it′s miniaturized nuclear weapons... and successfully tested a submarine－launched ballistic missile.
Those threats make next week′s defense meeting between Seoul and its major allies even more pressing.
Connie Kim has this report.
The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea， the United States and Japan will meet in Seoul for talks on the recent situation in North Korea and its nuclear threats.
Seoul′s foreign affairs ministry said Friday the two－day meeting， which starts Tuesday， will involve its chief nuclear envoy， Hwang Joon－kook， and his U.S. and Japanese counterparts Sung Kim and Junichi Ihara.
The three serve as delegates to the now－suspended six－party talks on denuclearizing North Korea.
Through the upcoming talks， they will seek to bring about progress in the North Korean nuclear issue at all levels， including deterrence， pressure and dialogue.
The trilateral talks come on the heels of North Korea claiming it successfully test－fired a submarine－launched ballistic missile.
Pyongyang has also claimed capability of miniaturizing nuclear weapons， a crucial step toward building nuclear missiles.
Calling North Korea′s test firing of the submarine－launched ballistic missile a violation of various UN resolutions，... Seoul， Washington and Tokyo are seeking to take action against the regime at the UN.
The resolutions ban Pyongyang from conducting any launches using ballistic missile technology.
The last meeting between the three countries was held in January， when they agreed on the need for a strong signal from the North that it is sincere about denuclearization before returning to the long－stalled six－party nuclear talks.
The talks， involving the two Koreas， the U.S.， China， Japan and Russia， were last held in December 2008.
Connie Kim， Arirang News.
